All of the Differences Between Vivitar 283's & 285's
WOW ! It's hard to know where to begin. There's so much mistaken information, here. So let's try this;
1. There are 2 different 283's as there are 2 different 285's.
2. All of these models can use 6 volt low voltage Quantum 1's, or 1+. Any modules, that fit into the battery compartment are for the low voltage Quantum battery.
3. The L.V. 285's, CANNOT use a Turbo. They weren't designed to use the H.V. pack, so they can't use a Turbo.
4. Aside A., when they came out with 285 H.V., they redesigned the 283's to lower the flash synch voltage. Only older 283's have a high synch voltage. All 285's have a low flash synch voltage.
5. I don't believe that you need to install AA batteries, to use a Turbo. I still own 2, 1 of which still works fine. I remember, Vivitar telling me, that only the flashes, that used an LCD, display, require AA's.
6. Stay away from the Vivitar H.V. 1 pack. The 510 volt battery is hard to find. The turbo's were invented as a substitute for the Vivitar H.V. 1 pack. The Turbo puts out about 300 volts.
www.qtm.com
7. Aside B., All 283's & 285 H.V.'s use the same AC adapter. Because when they redid both flashes, they made them both similar inside. All 283's & 285 H.V.'s se the same Turbo power cord. Only the 285 L.V., uses a different AC adapter, which Vivitar promptly discontinued, when they discontinued the 285 L.V..
But here's a secret, the 285 L.V., AC adapter was also used for the Vivitar Polaroid Instant Printer.
So the joke was on them.
8. I was always worried I would fry the camera circuitry, because of the single ball connector in the hot foot. If both, the camera & flash are switched on, dragging the ball across multiple contacts on the hot shoe, could short the camera. So to avoid that, I changed the foot to the one made by Lindahl. It uses a HouseHold synch cord, instead of the little pin & the metal foot, required me to use a flash bracket, the best thing I could have ever done.
9. You can tell the difference, between 285 L.V.'s & 285 H.V.'s by the front label. The L.V.'s used Black lettering, on a Silver background, the H.V.'s used Silver lettering on a Black background. While it does say H.V. on the front, it can be easy to miss & if your eBay, hunting, this may be a more reliable way to spot, what you want.
10.. You must power up all Vivitar flashes every once in a while or the capacitor goes dead. It's hard to fix now, due to a lack of parts from Vivitar.
11. I'm told that the Chinese one's are junk, ( no pun intended ). Here's a web site that explains all about the new models. But even he has some of the facts wrong, about the older models. I owned, both L.V. & H.V. 285's. I still have the H.V.'s as back up.
www.AlJacobs.com